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Teen musician Ivy James performs at JuneFest today By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville teenager Ivy James hopes to make a splash on the music scene at Toronto's JuneFest, something she's been aspiring to for some time. The 16-year-old White Oaks Secondary School student is performing two sets at today's festival at Mel Lastman Square held for Deaf-Blind Awareness Month. "I'm really excited. I've known about the festival for a couple years. I always said I want to play JuneFest. So finally, three or four years later I'm getting to. That's pretty cool," said the acoustic, pop-rock singer/ songwriter. James is also releasing her selftitled, six-track album this month, which will be available at JuneFest. "I write songs about things happening around me and my personal experiences," said James. "A lot of songs are about getting through things and doing the best you can and not letting anybody any relative of hers who would listen. As a child, James took lessons in various instruments and singing and plays a total of seven instruments, including: guitar, bass, double bass, ukulele, keyboard/piano, drums and trombone. One would imagine she caught the music bug at home through family, but that's not the case. "I'm the only person in my family who has this music gene. We haven't been able to find anybody else with it," she said. James became serious about music about three years ago when she played bass for a band that since folded. The teen continued taking music lessons and is currently receiving vocal instruction from voice coach Micah Barnes who praises his young student. "She is the smartest kind of artist you're ever going to find. She's got the kind of smarts that are so beyond her years that people in the industry already recognize that See Coach page 24 Artscene 23 · Wednesday, June 13, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com MARTA IWANEK / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog READY TO SHINE: Musician Ivy James is pictured outside of her Oakville home with her guitar. stop you." The teen wrote all the music on the CD, which was produced by Ryan Switzer at Oakville's Massive Tank Studios. James' credits her biggest influences as Canadian musicians Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench and Avril Lavigne, however the entertainer said she has her own distinct style. "This is the kind of music I've been listening to since I was really young. Avril Lavigne was the first singer-songwriter I got into," she said. James has been performing since she was five and entertaining beauty & spa (Bob Richardson) Voted Best Salon & Best Stylist Why don't you come and see how we earned the awards! College Park Plaza 905-338-6465 · www.bob-r-shop.com